He said Expedia data showed millennials, currently hailed as the largest generation, are less brand loyal than their parents and were far more likely to book a room via OTA.

Jones also noted millennials were not the only demographic to embrace OTAs.

He said the Welcome Anywhere property management system in 2017 processed GBP74 million (USD103.77 million) of hotel reservations with over 50 percent of these bookings came from Booking.com, while the number of direct bookings decreased by almost GBP2 million (USD2.8 million) in value.

“By turning their noses up at OTAs, some hoteliers seem to be effectively at war with modern guests and their booking preferences,” Jones said.